


Reno

by neverwinter (KingPreussen)



Series: it takes a village [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Adoption, Adorable Little Ango, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Child Abandonment, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecurity, Mild Hurt/Comfort, New Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-31 06:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12676104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingPreussen/pseuds/neverwinter
Summary: Instead of standing to start the kettle, Taako risked reaching forward across the table, palm facing upward and fingers lax. Angus, movements unsure, as if he thought the Elf would pull his hand away, very lightly put his hand in Taako's.---Angus has his first quiet day at home.





	Reno

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from 2 minutes ago because of issues
> 
> title from [reno](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8DRbgyDZxI), one of my very favorite songs
> 
> i realize that time has gone a bit weird in my universe. because i plan to do more backstory (between november, 2015 and november, 2016), some stories technically extend into the future. here is an updated timeline:
> 
> Reno - November, 2015  
> Crossing - April, 2016  
> Paso - July, 2016  
> Performance - October, 2016  
> Echo - December, 2016  
> Hazy - May, 2017  
> Sailboat - Late August, 2017  
> Platypus - Early September, 2017  
> Nowhere - November, 2017  
> Gleam - December, 2017
> 
> other stories will fit into these few years and ill remember to give an accurate time when i post them. according to this canon, taako adopted angus at six years old. during the events of the last four fics in the series, angus is eight
> 
> if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
> 
> *ao3 is refusing to let me put this work at the front of the series but it does come before crossing as i wrote here

Taako stifled a yawn in the crook of his elbow while he flipped a pancake with a quick wrist movement. It was one of the first things he learned how to do in a kitchen under the watchful eye of his and Lup's great aunt. He could practically make pancakes in his sleep all these years later, as evidenced by this morning.

He had a small speaker hooked into his phone jack, playing a relatively fast paced and heavy song on low volume to avoid waking Angus before he was ready. It was just a precaution, because he was pretty sure the early morning rain would drown out any sounds from the kitchen despite how light the young Human slept. The fact that it wasn't snowing despite the below freezing temperatures that lasted all night seemed like an omen of some kind, but Taako didn't know if it was good or bad. 

"I'm headin' on back to Reno," he murmured to himself, turning the burner up and sliding the finished pancake on top of a resting stack. Then he poured another circle of batter into the center of the pan and waited for it to cook through.

Cooking this early was done more out of an effort to relax than hunger. The day before, Taako finally won his petition to adopt Angus on the grounds of child abandonment by his birth parents. There was a disturbing pattern of hospitalization for much of Angus' young life before he, quite literally, ended up on the street. Just barely six years old, and very small for that age, Angus wouldn't have survived long on his own; weeks without food and shelter, even in late summer, had dropped his weight dangerously low. It was a miracle Taako and Lup even found him during their temporary stay in Rockport.

Angus ended up in the city's hands for almost five weeks while his birth records were obtained by court order and Taako was evaluated as an adoption candidate. Angus' parents had fled the region after abandoning him and were technically wanted on felony charges. Angus tried to take the blame on himself at first--Taako felt sick even thinking about how adamant Angus was that _he_ made his own parents hurt him and ultimately throw him out--but of course the court had heard those excuses from other abused children and dismissed it.

The entire ordeal lasted two months. The state was providing child therapy for an additional six months, thank Istus, and Taako himself was doing his best to get Angus settled in his new home. Physical affection was out of the question but Angus seemed to enjoy listening to Taako ramble, playing with Legos, and doing logic puzzles.

His first night home Taako read him to sleep from a Caleb Cleveland novel he picked up from the bookstore as part of a "housewarming" box he and Lup made up. Angus _really_ enjoyed that.

This morning was the first that Angus would be waking up in his new bed and eating Taako's homemade breakfast. To say Taako was nervous was a massive understatement. He and Lup hadn't experienced the best childhood and here he was, getting ready to spend the next ten-odd years raising an already abused kid on his own.

Well, not totally on his own. Pretty much everyone in his family had volunteered time to babysit Angus whenever Taako absolutely couldn't be with him, and were already making plans among themselves to meet him in small groups. Taako had ultimate veto power on those meetings and was in the middle of a "do and do not" list for their interactions with Angus. 

A door opened down the hall. Taako reached over with his free hand and touched the screen of his phone to check the time while listening for more movement. A few minutes before eight was an acceptable time to be up and around, he supposed, especially if Angus would sleep again later in the day.

There was no sight of the kid even when all of the lemon pancakes were finished, or after Taako cut a bunch of strawberries in half and put them in a little bowl. He could very faintly hear running water so he put the pancakes in the oven to keep warm and leaned back against the counter, scrolling through the various group chats his friends and family never shut up in. Magnus had already left several messages in all caps about his excitement to meet Taako's adopted son.

Ten minutes later, Angus showed up in the kitchen doorway, eyes wide and anxious. He was fully dressed in a little sweater and jeans that Taako picked out himself, his round glasses perched cutely on his button nose. "G-good morning, sir," he said, voice soft and rasping from sleep.

"It's just Taako," the Elf reminded gently. "And good morning. Want breakfast?"

Angus hesitated. "Um, yes please." He walked up to the kitchen table, putting his hand on the back of the nearest chair. "Did you eat already?"

"Nah, not yet. I will in a few hours." He took the pancakes back out of the oven and made Angus a plate, only cutting two pancakes into bite sized pieces in deference to Angus' small size. Angus was sitting at the table when he turned back around, still looking more nervous than anything, and he waited a heartbreaking moment for Taako's encouraging nod before he began eating.

Taako cleared his throat, sitting down across from Angus and lifting his phone just for something to do with his hands. He tended to talk with them and Angus still watched them in fear if his gestures got too wild. "This is your house now, Angus. You can let me know whenever you're hungry and I'll make you something. Or go in the refrigerator." He looked at the ceiling, murmuring, "Gotta get a step-stool" to stick it more firmly in his mind. "You don't have to wait for me to like, tell you if you can or can't. Okay?"

Angus nodded but didn't speak with his mouth full. Taako changed tracks, asking, "Do you want some tea or something? Milk?"

"Am I allowed to have tea?" Angus asked hopefully.

Taako couldn't help but grin; his first instinct was to give Angus everything, though a moment later he managed to switch into the mindset of a responsible parent. Marginally. "Not too much, but sure! How do you take it?"

Angus' adorably curious expression faded back to wariness. "I only had it plain," he admitted like it was something shameful.

"Then we can experiment, kiddo." Instead of standing to start the kettle, Taako risked reaching forward across the table, palm facing upward and fingers lax. Angus, movements unsure, as if he thought the Elf would pull his hand away, very lightly put his hand in Taako's.

They sat in silence for a while, Angus finishing off his pancakes and all of the fruit with one hand and Taako trying not to watch him so obviously. When his plate was empty, Angus fidgeted. "Um, s-should I wash my dishes, or?"

Taako regretfully pulled his hand away. "No, of course not. I'll get them later." To alleviate some of the awkwardness, Taako asked, "Wanna watch some TV while I get your tea for you?"

"Yes please," Angus repeated in his small voice. He tucked his chair neatly beneath the table and exited the kitchen for the living room, leaving Taako alone again.

Taako felt halfway to useless. He would keep trying to make his house a welcoming place for Angus but he wasn't hesitant by nature. Taako outright refused to do things he hated or already knew he wouldn't want to do. He'd never seen someone consider their _every movement_ like Angus did. The adoption was partially in Angus' hands and he definitely wanted to live with Taako--he had repeated that in two interviews, shy but optimistic--but the whole cohabitating thing would apparently take some work.

The rest of Taako's attention was taken up by making a real tray of tea, complete with creamer and sugar bowl, to bring out for Angus. He'd never felt so traditionally Elvish than right then. Lup would absolutely tease him about becoming more бабушка than мама if she were there.

When he got out to the living room, Angus had opted not to turn the television on. Instead he was curled up at the end of the couch, Caleb Cleveland novel in hand. Taako's entrance made him glance over, and then he made an aborted movement like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to have his feet on the cushions.

"It's fine," Taako reassured him. He set the tray down on the coffee table and sat next to Angus, not all the way at the other end of the couch but not too close, either. "As long as you don't have shoes on, go fucking nuts." Angus giggled a bit at his swearing and Taako grinned in response. "Make up your tea how you'd like. I don't recommend more than two sugars though."

Angus set his book down on the arm, looking at Taako for confirmation again but, thankfully, continuing before Taako could move. "Thank you, sir. Taako."

"No problem, kid." Taako used Mage Hand to pick up the remote from the other end of the coffee table and accidentally almost startled Angus into spilling his cup. "Careful," Taako murmured, taking the remote and dismissing the spectral hand. Angus ducked his head like he was being seriously scolded and Taako quickly continued, "You're fine, just don't want you to burn yourself." He hesitated. "You knew I was a Wizard before, right?"

"Yeah. The hat," Angus confirmed quietly, a surprisingly wry smile pulling at one side of his mouth. "I really love magic, is all."

Taako smiled back, encouraged. Angus was definitely more quiet than him, at least at this stage in their relationship, but this was something they had in common. "I have a bunch of theory books," Taako said as he (slowly, deliberately) gestured to the bookshelf that sat between the window and the wall mounted television. "You're welcome to all of them. And I can try to teach you whenever you want. I pretty much learned on my own so I might not be the best teacher."

Angus shook his head. "I'm sure you're a very good teacher, Taako." He pulled the throw off the back of the couch, without a nervous look toward Taako at all, and wrapped it around himself. Taako could almost see the cogs turning in his head as he thought, and then he inched that much closer to Taako, sitting within a foot of him before picking up his tea and curling up with his book again.

They sat together for a long while, Taako half-watching a cooking competition with the volume on low and Angus absorbed in his book. Around ten am Angus began to snore, soft and adorable, and Taako gently extricated the cup from his hands before laying another blanket over him.

* * *

bonus: december, 2015

"Can we go play in the snow, Taako?"

Said Elf looked up automatically, brushing hair out of his eyes to properly see Angus to the right of him. Angus already had a hat on, gloves in one hand and a scarf in the other. Julia included the hand-knitted beanie, complete with adorable pom-pom on top, in Angus' welcome package almost exactly a month ago. 

"Is it snowing?" Taako asked dumbly. He had been locked in his bedroom for most of the day, buried in manuals and study guides for his new executive assistant position. It was at a tech firm and, while he wasn't computer _illiterate_ , there was a lot of new information that he had to take in to be able to understand all the jargon his bosses threw around. Angus kept to himself as well for that time but all of a sudden he pushed Taako's bedroom door open, beaming.

Angus bounced on his toes. "Uh-huh! It's snowing a lot!" He caught sight of Taako's stacks of books and legal pads and stilled, smile fading. "Oh, I didn't know you were busy," he said apologetically.

Taako immediately closed the manual in front of him. "I think I can take a break." He turned and opened his hands, asking, "Can I help you with those?"

Angus' smile was back in full force. "Yes please!" He handed Taako the scarf and gloves, and while Taako gently began wrapping the scarf about his neck. "I read in Caleb Cleveland and the Case of the Yuletide Snowdragon that Caleb's favorite season is winter! That's mine too!"

"What a coincidence," Taako said, raising his eyebrows in a phantom of surprise. "What case was that again?"

Taako glanced up from his work on the scarf to Angus' face and bit his lip to stifle laughter at his disapproving expression. "I told you before, Taako! Caleb discovers that a snowdragon is actually a _real_ dragon that a Sorcerer used Cone of Cold on! And Caleb has to get help from his new friend Angelina Ashford, who's a Druid, to stop all the dragons in the Northern Reaches from getting frozen!" This was all said in one breath while Taako nodded seriously, putting Angus' gloves on and tucking the ends into his sweater.

"Holy shit, that does sound really cool," Taako replied, grinning; Angus started his bouncing again. "Could you read some of that to me tonight before bed? We can take turns if you want."

Angus seemed suddenly shy. Being read to sleep wasn't something that happened in his previous house, but Taako made a point to do it every night. Recently Angus had even been comfortable with Taako sitting at the end of his bed while he read. 

He adjusted his glasses with his gloved hand. "Okay. Can we have hot chocolate, too?"

"You know it, pumpkin." Angus' cheeks turned such an adorable shade of red that Taako couldn't help pushing the front of the hat backward a little and kissing Angus' forehead. The Human accepted the kiss with no fuss, only pulling away when Taako leaned back.

To Taako's surprise, Angus reached forward and took his hand, tugging him gently but insistently. "Come on, Taako, before it all melts!" he urged.

Taako allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and out of his bedroom with barely enough time to turn out the light. "I doubt it'll melt in two minutes, Angles," he grumbled with no heat, mostly ecstatic at the feeling of Angus' hand in his.

**Author's Note:**

> edited to move bonus content into the main story! (notes get lost in some formats)


End file.
